Week 3 - Being Present

There are many reasons I have never enjoyed running.   It hurts every single part of my body, albeit not all at the same time.   At the beginning, it is generally my lungs gasping for air followed by my ankles popping; the pain then moves up my shins and eventually settles into my hips.   Oh, and the next day, my lower back likes join my hips on a pain date. 

I ran 5 miles this week.  The longest I had ever run before beginning this journey was about 3 miles, and that was about 5 years ago.

But, this weekend, as I completed my fifth mile, I actually felt great.   Maybe it was the routine of the last three weeks or maybe it was the rush of the accomplishment, either way, at the end, I thought to myself, “I can do this.”  Then I thought to myself, “wait a minute, am I  *&%*ing crazy?  That was only 5 miles!  I have 21.2 more than that to do!”  That thought was incredibly overwhelming.  So, I snapped myself back to the present.  When I am present, I do feel the aches and pains that accompany me on my runs, but I also feel the crisp air, the sensation when my breathing starts to level off, the moment my pace becomes comfortable, and the excitement that comes from knowing what I am accomplishing. 

So, for now, I am not focusing on the marathon, instead, I am focusing on the moment.